Abstract

This
project aims to analyse the range of interests, perceptions and tactics
related to the development of renewable energy infrastructure in order
to inform more effective decision-making that supports sustainable
development. The project will challenge the tendency to apply
over-simplified categories of supporters and objectors to wind farm
developments, which overlooks the complexity of the attitudes held and
the potential to explore alternative means of resolving the resulting
disputes. This will be developed through a case study of the ongoing
controversy over a proposed wind farm on the Tunes Plateau off Northern
Ireland, one of the most wind-rich parts of the UK. The case study will
be used to deepen understanding of the nature of such disputes by
indentifying the range of interests involved in the debate over the
proposed wind farm and analysing their core beliefs, using a technique
known as Q-Methodology. this will be used to assess the main areas of
conflict and consensus on the proposal and identify potential mediated
solutions to such disputes. it is anticipated that the project's
findings will inform institutional reform and help identify new
approaches to decision-making for locational disputes involving
renewable energy infrastructure.

NEWS

This Research Project has now closed and the final report submitted to the ESRC however, feel free to browse these pages

Research Outputs will be posted as they become available: check out the RESULTS page